Voice
by Aragem
Summary: Loretta hears a little voice inside her head the night before her death. Please read and review
1. Default Chapter

This is a short story about Loretta's thoughts the night before she goes into Freddy's private room.

Please, read and review.

Loretta used to belong to a good family. She attended worship every Sunday and lived with wholesome family. But that ended the night she met Freddy Krueger.

She had been working at the newly built diner, the Crave Inn, as a waitress when she first met him. He had just got off work from the factory and was sweaty and dirty. But that didn't change the way her emotions stirred within her at the sight of him.

He wasn't handsome, but he wasn't unattractive at all. She had had heard disturbing things about him. She didn't know him personally, being that her family was new to SpringWood and all.

Before she knew it, she was in the back of his car, having sex like a young teenager. They departed ways after that. A month later, she discovered she was pregnant. She went to where Fred worked at the factory and told him.

She was very surprised when he suggested that they get married. He just didn't seem the type. Her father, really wanted her to be wedded by preacher instead of a judge, but Fred was against setting one foot inside a Church.

Because of Fred's…..dislike…..of the Church, she was estranged from her family. They occasionally spoke, but things were different from then on.

Things were fine a month into the marriage. Fred worked during the day and she would keep house. He would come home and she would have dinner ready for him. Then things changed.

Freddy became demanding of everything she did. He wanted his dinner hot and ready for him the moment he stepped through the door. He would yell at her and call her lazy if it wasn't. One time he screamed at her for not getting him his morning newspaper when he wanted it.

The first time he hit her happened when she accidentally burned the bacon for his breakfast. His slap made her teeth rattle and she fell to the floor, her cheek reddening. He left, banging the door behind him, leaving her sitting on the floor, dumbfounded with shock.

Occasionally, whenever she did something that would displeas him, he would hit her, calling it 'taking her medicine'. She would go up to their bedroom and cry, nursing a bleeding lip or nose, or bruised cheek and jaw. Then one time, he tried to kill her.

Her pregnancy was advancing with her stomach starting to round and swell. She was on the couch, knitting, when the door flew opened and Freddy stood in the doorway. His gray eyes almost shone blue with rage, and his fedora crowned his head, he looked fearsome.

"Fred….?"

He slammed the door shut and stalked across the room. He wrapped cruel hard fingers around her throat. "You've been talking to the cops, Loretta? Huh? Have you? Been talking too much to your loud mouth bitching friends?!"  
His hands squeezed, cutting off her air. Her thoughts went to the child growing in her belly. "Fre….the…..baby…..!"  
He immediately let go. She collapsed back onto the couch, her throat on fire and gasping for air.

"Loretta, baby." He knelt in front of her, lowering his head into what was left of her lap. "I…get so mad"

"Freddy, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I….spoke to my mother. I thought that if I talked to her about it, then I might know how to be a better wife to you. She must have told the police. I'm sorry, you deserve better than me." Loretta started to cry, her hands stroking his receding hairline.

"I can hear the kid in there, Loretta." Fred murmured against her thigh. "Just floating around in there. Probably wondering what the hell is going on out here."

Loretta laughed.

Later that night, Loretta called and argued with her mother. She hung up and never had any contact with her family again.

Months later, Katherine was born. Loretta woke up to find her husband in her room, holding their daughter in his steady hands. There was a soft look in his face; a look that she didn't think was possible to see in his hard gray eyes. He bent and kissed the baby gently on the forward and handed her to her mother for her first feeding.

Fred loved his daughter. Her first word was daddy, and her first steps were toward him and his loving arms.

When Katharine was two, Fred began clearing out the storage space in the cellar. He then moved tables, benches, metal work, and tools in there. He announced that it was his new work room. He installed a lock and kept the only key on his person. He took Loretta by the hand and took her to the locked door.

"Loretta, now, you know I love ya, and I can be…strict about some things, but this is important, honey. I don't want you or Katherine near this door. I don't want you to so much as try to open it or go inside. There's a lot of sharp tools and equipment in there, I don't want my two favorite girls in the world to get hurt, okay?" He squeezed her arm, leaving bruises; if he caught Loretta going in there, he was going to give her a big dose of medicine.

Loretta fought not to squeal from the pain and nodded, "Whatever you want, Fred. You're the man of the house."

"That's right; I am the man of the house."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loretta silently washed the dishes, but her were thoughts else where. Five children have been missing, no ransom notes, no clues, and no bodies. Loretta use to fear for five-year-old Katherine's safety, but she no longer did.

_Why is that? _

Loretta set a clean dish aside and grabbed towel to dry it. Fred had been leaving after dinner, saying that he was given extra time at work, so he would have to work more sometimes at night.

_Five nights, he's worked. And five children are…_

He would carry a big bag with him when he left those nights.

_A bag big enough to…_

A bag that he would not let Loretta pack for him or let Katherine near it.

Loretta put away the dry dish and checked the clock. 10:00 P.M. It'll be a while before he comes home.

She went to Katherine's room to check on her. She was asleep in her small bed, both arms curled around her doll Fred brought two weeks ago.

_Didn't little Allison had a doll like that? _

Allison had come over to play with Katherine a week before she went missing. She had brought with her a doll.

_The doll that was identical to the one Katherine has now. _

Loretta, gently shut the door. Toy factories are always making dolls that resembled each other. Fred probably bought it from the same store that Allison's mother bought her hers.

_"But there aren't any stores that sell toys between here and the boiler room where Fred works. And he always shows up on time for dinner. You of anyone should know that."_

Loretta crossed her arms and tap her elbows with her fingers, anxiety building. There's another woman……

She closed her eyes, tears threatening to spill. She must be the first and only woman in the world to wish her husband was cheating on her than……the thought was too unbearable.

_No, you've been thinking it ever since…_

No! No….! She was a good wife. She had a beautiful daughter, with a won…..

_Were you going to say wonderful husband? Hah! Don't make me laugh!_

"Shut up." She hissed.

_Remember when you last saw Allison? Remember what she said about her doll? Remember how Fr…_

No…..Loretta did not want to remember, but the memory came anyway.

Loretta had been tending to her flower garden in the back when Allison came skipping up the street with her doll in tow.

"Allison! Hi, how are you?" Loretta greeted with warm smile. "Does your mother know you're here?"

"Yes, ma'am. She watched me out the window." Allison pointed to the house across the street from theirs.

"Are you here to see Katherine?"

"Yeah! Can she play?"

"She may, but she's eating breakfast with her daddy, right now. She'll be out in a moment. Is that your new doll?"

"Yes ma'am, but Bacon was mean yesterday!" Bacon was Allison's family's small dog. "He chewed on Maria's leg, see?"

Allison lifted the doll's skirt to show the teeth marks on the doll's thigh and hip.

"That's terrible? Are you sure that Maria is up to playing today?"

"She's feeling much better."

The door open and Katherine, holding Fred's hand walked outside. "Allison!"

"Hey, wanna play!?"

"Yeah!"  
The two girls ran off to the far side of the garden toward Katherine's playhouse that Fred built for her fourth birthday. Loretta smiled at the giggling girls and looked up to make a comment on their friendship, when she froze at what she saw.

Fred was lighting a cigarette, but his eyes were on Allison. His gray eyes followed her every move as if he was hunting her. He breathing quickened a little and Loretta swore, up to the die she died that she saw him lick the corner of his lip.

"Fred?"

It seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. "Yeah, hon?"

"It's nothing…..but will you be working tonight?"

"No, not tonight."

_He's working late tonight though…_

Fred's my husband, he loves me and Katherine, he wouldn't…..

_He's hit you…he even tried to kill you once…_

He's never laid a finger on Katherine…

_Maybe because he knows that that's the one thing you won't tolerate. Because he knows that you would go screaming to the police if he so much as lays a finger on Katherine._

I….would…..

_Check the doll. See if the teeth marks are there._

No.

_Do it. Give yourself peace. _

NO!!!

_Yes…do it…check the doll…Do you remember the sound…_

Loretta clasped her hands to her head and squeezed her eyes shut, tears dripping down her cheeks. She didn't….no….she could hear it…that pitiful sob from the room. Fred's personal work space…lock with him being the only one with the key.

She had been cleaning up after breakfast. Katherine was in her room playing and Fred had left for work. He had seemed happier somehow. More satisfied somehow. He even came up behind her while she was cooking, putting his arms around her and kissed her neck. He even, to her delighted shock, teased her ear with his tongue while Katherine wasn't looking. It was like they were back in their first month of marriage.

After Fred left and Katherine went upstairs, she heard the sound. It was low and soft, and it was full of pain. "Katherine? Did you come down stairs?"

The crying came from the cellar. Loretta dropped her dishes into the sink and took off her apron. "Katherine! You know better than to go to the cellar by yourself."

As she neared the door that led downstairs, the sobbing sounded nearer as if Katherine was on the stairs. "Katherine! You know that your father doesn't want you near that…."

She opened the door, but Katherine wasn't there. The crying was coming from inside Fred's private work room. Loretta stared at the door, locked with a padlock and only Fred with the key. She listened to the crying of a small child. She stood there for what seemed like years, then, she went back upstairs to finish with the dishes and then went upstairs to read Katherine a storybook.

_You left that child to her death._

No, there was no child in there.

_Oh, but there was and you knew it. You chose to ignore it, because if you had forced the door open or called the police, you would see a scared, little girl inside and the whole world would know that your husband and Katherine's father, Fred Krueger, was a pedophile._

No, that's not true.

_It is._

Stop it! Just stop it! Who are you?

_I'm the part of you, that sees the truth and doesn't lie about it. I'm the part of you that can see what's going on sees it for what it is. Your husband, our husband, is a child killer! That was little Allison in there! You know it, I know it, and of course, Fred knows it! You could have saved her, but you were too afraid to face the truth, now Fred has taken her body to the boiler room in the factory has burned it by now. That's what he carries in those bags! Not tools, not a change of clothes; dead kids. How long…how long do you'll think it'll be before he sets his sights on Katherine? How long before Katherine goes into that little room to cry to pitiful sobs? How long before Fred needs to work late and takes a bag with Katherine's body in it to…_

STOP IT!!! JUST STOP IT!!!!

_Check the doll! At least have the courage to that! Check the doll. Feel for teeth marks. If there are teeth marks, then you know the truth, like I do. You'll be protecting Katherine and yourself and other children. If I'm wrong and there are no teeth marks, then you'll make Fred and nice hot breakfast in the morning to make it up to him. What is it going to hurt?_

Loretta checked the clock. 11:30.

She went upstairs. Katherine was still asleep, her arms still around her doll….

_Allison's doll._

Loretta gently reached under the blankets. She felt under the doll's skirt. Her yelped of shock nearly awaken Katherine, who stirred in her sleeping. Loretta quickly rearranged the doll's skirt over the teeth marks and went to her bedroom. She shucked off her clothes and changed into her nightgown.

_What are you doing?_

There are plenty of dogs that chew on little girl's toys.

_ Are you crazy?_

Bacon probably came over after Allison went missing and got a hold of Katherine's doll.

_You're doing it again!_

That bad dog. The next time I see him over here, I'll…

_You stupid bitch!_

Don't call me that!

_That's what you are! Fred was right to call you a bitch. You are ignoring the truth again! _

It doesn't prove anything.

_It proves everything! You have got to get off your ass and call the police! Now!_

No, I don't…shu….

"Who are you talking to?"

Loretta turned her head to see her husband standing in the doorway. He was wearing the red and green sweater that Loretta gave him last Christmas. He set his favorite fedora aside, and began to unbuckle the belt of his dark pants.

"Oh, no one. I was just worried about you."

"Why?" He sat on the bed and untied his work boots.

"I'm your wife, I worry about you, because I love you."

Fred crawled into bed and laid a hand across Loretta's belly.

_Ever notice how he never says he loves you. Never, not even on the day you first met him._

He leaned over and licked her cheek. He rolled over on top of her, his face inches from her.

"Fred?"

"Yeah?" He slid his hands under her nightgown and lifted the skirt.

"How about we do something fun tomorrow? With Katherine, I mean. I have those steaks. You could grill them and we could eat in the backyard. You have the day off tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, okay. We can do that."

"Fred?"

"Yes." His voice hardened, his fingers on her waist tightened. He was getting impatient.

"I love you. I want you to know that I love you. I loved you from the day we first met. And if you love me….even a little….if you have any love or fondness for me…the mother of your daughter….you will promise me that you'll love and care for our daughter, okay?"

Fred stared hard at her. "What the hell are you babbling about?"

"Just promise me! Please, I have never asked anything of you, so please, do this for me…please…."

"Alright, dammit, I promise. Sheesh, I'm out of the mood now. Damn!" Fred rolled off her onto his side of the bed. "I hope you're happy, Loretta. You just shot the horse!"

Loretta stifled a giggle. This was what the part of Freddy that she loved. She admired him for the way he could crack a joke at any moment and bring a laugh out of her.

_Hee__ hee hee_

Loretta rolled onto her side and snuggled against Fred's back, her hand touching his arm. She closed her eyes…

_You know…there is another way to…'prove me wrong'. You know where Fred keeps the key to his work room. In his work pants pocket. He won't be wearing those tomorrow. They'll be in the laundry room, he takes the key out before he lets you wash the, and he knows you don't do laundry on a Sunday. While he's outside playing with Katherine you could…you know._


	2. part 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was going to make this into a one chapter story, but inspiration struck so I am writing a conclusion to "Voice". Last chapter was about the possible thoughts that went through Loretta, Freddy's wife, the night before her death. I believe that Loretta suspected her husband of killing the Elm Street children. In Maggie's childhood flashback, in Freddy's Dead, you see Loretta 'sneak off' while Freddy is playing with his daughter. And after she screams and Freddy glares at her, she starts to cry and say, "I won't tell." Her fearful cry leads me to believe that Freddy was an abusive husband. Whether he was an abusive father, the movie doesn't give us any clues into that. And when Freddy grabs her shoulders and snarls, "I told you to stay away from there", or "not to go in there', (I need to watch the movie again and listen carefully). I believe that Loretta knew about the room and didn't just happen upon it. Well, that's my explanation for this fic.

Please, read and review.

Loretta woke up early that morning, the last morning of her life, and prepared breakfast for her family like she did every morning since her marriage to Fred. Her eyes kept glancing to the pair of pants he had thrown in the laundry; the pair with the only key to his work room.

_You mean his room of death, don't you?_

Stop it.

_I say you go in right now. Right now and see. Why wait? Why continue the charade? Look now._

No.

_Why not?_

Because….

_Because why?_

Because I don't want to right now. I'm cooking breakfast. Now leave me alone.

As she dished placed hot bacon onto a plate, the sounds of Freddy moving around above came to her ears. Several moments, he came down stairs; his reddish blonde hair tufted and wearing his red bathrobe. She set a plate with eggs and bacon before him as he sat down where the SpringWood newspaper was folded neatly before him.

"I'm going to wake Katherine up now, Fred." She paused.

He nodded.

Loretta went upstairs to her daughter's bedroom. She was still asleep with her arms around her doll.

_Allison's doll._

_ "Kat, honey, time to wake up._ Mommy, got breakfast ready for you. Daddy's already downstairs eating." Loretta tried to keep her eyes from the doll.

Katherine slowly woke up with grumpy replies until she was sitting up yawning. She helped her daughter get dress in a small pink dress. "Today, Katherine, for lunch we're going to have a picnic outside. Won't that be fun?"

"Is Daddy staying home today?"

"Yes. Today is his day off." Loretta frowned at the doll, which lay on the bed. Right beneath its skirt were small imprints of a dog's teeth. "Why don't you leave your doll in your room today, okay?"

_What's wrong? Can't stand the sight of your own guilt?_

"Why? Daddy gave her to me!" Katherine whined, taking up the doll into her arms. She hugged it as if protecting it from her mother.

"I don't want you to loose her. And what about Bobo and Tuffy?" Loretta motioned at a stuffed bear and a beat up stuffed cat. "I'm sure that they'll like to play with you."

"But I like this doll." Katherine's voice started pitch as if she were about to cry. "Daddy gave it to me…."

_Right after he ripped it off a dead little girl._

"Alright, but if you loose her, don't cry about it to me." Loretta said sternly.

Katherine, still hugging her doll, held Loretta's hand and let her guide her to the kitchen. Fred had finished his breakfast and was reading the paper while nursing his coffee. Katherine released Loretta's hand and ran to her father's side. She scrambled onto his lap and Fred put an arm around her waist to keep her from falling and continued to read the paper.

It was a sight that happened almost every morning. It was the true sight of father and daughter. Loretta didn't know why they bothered having three chairs at the table. She set Katherine's small breakfast plate and watched her eat at Fred's lap.

It was scenes like this that Loretta realized how much Katherine looked like her father. She had the same color hair and had his chin and set of eyes, while she had Loretta's nose and cheeks.

Fred's arm was protectively around her…

_Probably copping a feel…_

Stop it.

It was that afternoon, within the last hour of Loretta's life, while the steaks were sizzling on the grill and Fred was playing tag with his daughter, that Loretta got the nerve to go to the laundry room.

Her questing hand found the key within his pocket, her heart pounding.

Do I want to know?

_Yes, you do. You may not want to, but deep down, you want to know for sure._

Can I go through with this?

She went down to the cellar and stopped at Fred's locked door. She stared at it, for a long time.

_Put the key in the lock and open the door._

I can't.

_Yes, you can. _

It was as if Loretta's soul left her body briefly. She could see herself clicking the key into the lock and twisting it. The padlock released and she stood with a door, barely cracked. She placed her hand on the door, panting, heart pounding, and her fear running courses up and down her arms.

What will I see?

_The scary thing is that even I don't know. You've come this far, keep going and don't stop._

She could hear Katherine laughing and Fred calling his daughter's name.

He's a good father.

_And you're a good mother. That's why you have to go through with this._

Loretta pushed opened the door and screamed.

_Gloves, with sharp implements stitched onto them. _

The playful noise outside stopped. The air was thick with silence and it was suffocating.

_Newspaper clippings, hung on the wall as if they were trophies._

She gagged.

_Body parts in jars._

Before she knew it she was outside in the sunlight. Across from her, she could see Fred and Katherine staring at her. Katherine, her face with surprise and confusion and Fred, with dawning realization lighting his face with rage.

"I won't tell." She whimpered as she made her to him. How she could walk, she did not know, her legs felt like running water. "Fred, I won't tell anyone."

Fred glared at her, his eyes blue with rage. He turned to their daughter. "Go inside, honey. I got to talk to Mommy."

Katherine stared, and then obeyed. She walked down into the cellar where her mother had burst out from like a mad woman.

"Fred, please, I won't tell!"

Fred grabbed her shoulder and squeezed, his fingers leaving everlasting bruises into her flesh. "What did say about that room? Huh? What did I say? I said not to go in there! Didn't I!? Didn't I!?"

He shook her at each word. Before she knew it, his hands were around her throat, his fingers squeezing. She struggled, twisting, her hands prying at his fingers.

Her eyes glazed over, she knew it was over; Fred was killing her, giving her her final dose of medicine. Her eyes glazed and she saw things. Scenes from her childhood, it was hard to believe that she had had a fantasy of having a happy marriage with a handsome prince and two children as a child. What a joke. Life dealt her a pedophilic murdering husband and a daughter she will never see grow up.

Death was rising up to claim her. Her face was turning blue and her eyes nearly bulge from their sockets. For a second, for one second, her husband's face changed. It became warped and twisted with scars from severe burns. She blinked, and then it was back to the face of the man she loved, the face that she saw everyday for the last five years, a face she saw above her when they had sex, the last thing she saw at night and the first thing she saw in the morning, looking at her with murderous rage and blind hatred.

It turned dark and she stopped seeing things, then she started to hear….

_Hello, what would you like to have tonight?_

_ You, if that's possible._

_ Ha ha. Very funny._

_ The name's Fred Krueger._

_ I'm Loretta._

_ Fred, I…I'm sorry to bother you like this at work. I can come back another time, but this is very important._

_ What is it?_

_ I'm pregnant. From that night, when we…_

_ You are?  
I don't know what to do. However I did know that you have the right to know about it._

_ Are you going to keep the kid?  
I don't know. I just don't know how I can support myself and a baby. _

_ Marry me then._

_ Marry you? Are you serious?_

_ Yeah. I'm asking you aren't I?_

_ I…I don't know what to say. Are you seriously proposing to me?_

_ What, you want me on one knee with a rock? I don't have a diamond, but will this piece of charcoal do?_

_ Ha ha ha…this is serious, Fred._

_ I'm being serious._

_ Really?_

_ Really._

_ Oh my, is this our house?_

_ You bet, baby._

_ It's so big! Was this really your childhood home!?_

_ Yep, and it's ours._

_ Oh, it's beautiful, Fred. I'm so happy._

_ Aw, geez, Loretta, stop crying. The neighbors are watching._

_ I love you, Fred. _

_ Dammit! You stupid bitch! How the hell do you burn bacon!? You have to be a complete moron to burn bacon! Get up off your ass and have the damn food ready before I get back, or so help me I'll give you such a big dose of medicine, you'll choke on it._

_ Fred! I'm sorry. I was watching tv and didn't have dinner ready for you in time. It'll be ready in a…_

_ SHUT UP!!! God! I work all damn day while you sit on your ass and watch tv? You know how much I would like to stay home and watch tv on my ass? I work, so you could have that kid, eat, and not walk around town naked, the least you can do is have a hot meal waiting for me on the table when I come home._

_ Fred, I'm sorry. It won't happen again!_

_ Fre…the…baby!_

_ I can hear the kid in there, Loretta. Just floating around in there. Probably wondering what the hell is going on out here._

_ Ha ha ha_

_ What the hell is this mess on the damn floor?_

_ Fred! The baby is coming!_

_ I thought you were giving birth to a baby, not a damn ocean! Geez, this is disgusting! God! It got on my shoes!_

_ What do you want to name her, Fred?_

_ Aw, I don't know. How about Katherine?_

_ That's lovely. I like it._

_ God, Loretta, take one of my socks, and just shove it down that kid's throat._

_ Fred! I cannot believe that you said that about your daughter. She's hungry! _

_ Then shove your tit down her throat! Geez!  
C'mon, princess, say daddy. Daddy. Say daddy._

_ Dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada._

_ Loretta! Come listen to this!_

_ Dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada!_

_ Oh, Fred, her first word! Dada._

_ Dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada._

_ Now turn her off, Loretta._

_ Dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada._

_ That's so cute._

_ Aw, shit!_

_ Fred, what are you doing?_

_ Nothing, I just decided that I want this room as a work room. You know, every man needs a private space from the family and all. _

_ Oh, that sounds nice. I'll be sure to tell Katherine to stay out of your way._

_ Loretta, now, you know I love ya, and I can be…strict about some things, but this is important, honey. I don't want you or Katherine near this door. I don't want you to so much as try to open it or go inside. There's a lot of sharp tools and equipment in there, I don't want my two favorite girls in the world to get hurt, okay? _

_ Whatever you want, Fred. You're the man of the house._

_ That's right; I am the man of the house._

_ Merry Christmas, Fred!_

_ I like this sweater._

_ Yes, I saw it on sale at the store. Red and green, just perfect for Christmas._

_ Fred, say hello, to Katherine's friend, Allison._

_ Oh…hey…_

_ She just moved into the house across from us._

_ That's nice…for Katherine to have a friend, I mean._

_ Fred, isn't it horrible! Little Allison from across the street is missing!_

_ Oh…that's too bad._

_ Katherine is upstairs crying!_

_ I got work I got to do, okay, honey. I'll be in my work room. I'll be out in two or three hours. Don't worry if dinner isn't ready for me. You can eat without me, okay._

_ Fred, that's very nice of you to bring Katherine a doll. You know, she gets depressed whenever you're not here for dinner._

_ Sorry, but I gotta work to bring in the dough._

_ Fred, please, promise me._

_ Alright! Sheesh, I promise!_

_ Fred, I won't tell._

Die, bitch.

**_The End._******


End file.
